A total of 1696 pensioners were caught getting pensions based on wrong documents over the last two years in the State, statistics tabled on Tuesday in the assembly session showed.
Haryana Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Om Prakash Yadav said in a statement tabled in the House revealed that the State Government has stop releasing pensions for those pensioners who had provided wrong information and fake documents to the department of social welfare in the State.
The department officers had reviewed documents provided by the old age pension beneficiaries for securing old age pension and it was found that a total of 1696 old age pensioners in the State whose pension was stopped between July 1, 2018 and January 31, 2020 due to fake documents and wrong information provided to the department concerned. The Minister said that the officers have been directed to take appropriate steps ensuring no one secure pension based on wrong documents.
Congress MLA from Rohtak, Bharat Bhushan Batra raised the issue of fake pensions and asked the Social Welfare Minister to reply about how many pensioners’ pensions were stopped by the Government during July 1, 2018 and January 31, 2020. What are procedures adopted by the Government to recovered pension from the pensioners who secured pension from the department concerned illegally,? he asked.
Sources in the Social Welfare department said that the Haryana Government in April 2018 had decided to recover the benefit availed by people under 'Old Age Allowance Scheme' by suppressing true information.
A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting of state cabinet, which met under the chairmanship of chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar, he said, adding that it was also decided that the benefit given for the ineligible period would be recovered by the department by deducting 50 percent amount from the monthly pension of the beneficiaries
Meanwhile, data presented in the House by the Minster revealed that 97 old age pensions were stopped in Ambala after being found fake documents from candidates while 49 in Bhiwani, 71 in Charkhi Dadri, two each in Faridabad and Fatehabad, 17 in Gurugram, 42 in Hisar, 65 in Jhajjar, seven in Jind, 12 in Kaithal, 10 in Karnal, 18 in Kurukshetra, 451 in Mahindergarh, four in Mewat, 10 in Palwal, 46 in Panchkula, seven in Panipat, 449 in Rewari, 291 in Rohtak, three in Sirsa, 28 in Sonipat and 15 in Yamunanagar.
Yadav further said that the recovery of the pension, sanctioned on the basis of wrong information given by the application, is made without interest as a onetime measure. In case they are in a position to deposit the recovery amount, it is recovered in monthly instalments equal to 50 per cent of the monthly pension.
The Social Welfare Minister said that a person is eligible for old age samman allowance if candidate is of 60 years or more.
In addition to this, candidates are domicile and resident of Haryana and their income from all sources together with that of their spouse does not exceed Rs two lakh per annum, he said, adding any candidate receiving pension from any government or local or statutory body or any organisation substantially financed by Government or local body is not eligible to receive the allowance under the old age pension scheme in the State.
